The sun didn't shine over Equestria today. The clouds of ash, dust, and smoke made sure of that. When the sun did come out, however, it always bathed the once vibrant landscape in an eerie red glow. In the scorched ruins below, a single pony trotted the wastes. This particular mare was very unlucky, because when Equestria breathed its last, she survived, rather than die along with all her friends.
You see, the sheer amounts of arcane flux and energy released in the final battle between Tirek and Twilight offset the world's natural... Rhythm, so to speak. The result was a cataclysm of epic proportions. Previously unknown volcanos erupted, great fissures opened up in the ground, poisonous gasses seeped up from the depths, storms of a magnitude greater than anything ever seen poured toxic rain...
It was a massacre. Within weeks, 99% of ponykind was wiped out, whether from the initial disaster, the choking clouds, or the lack of heat from the sun being blocked out.
Seeking to save at least one member of the pony species, Twilight Sparkle sacrificed her magic, and eventually her life, to create a set of armor impervious to all forms of damage. Along with this, she and the Princesses created a necromantic talisman capable of healing any wound, and even bringing the user back to life should they die. With magic from the Princesses themselves, it was guaranteed to keep the wearer from dying for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Volunteering for the duty of keeping ponykind alive, the brave Rainbow Dash took on the armor and talisman.
However, she wasn't told about the armor's biomagical seal that permanently locked the first wearer in it, so that it could never be stolen. Originally, the wearer WAS supposed to be able to take it off, but due to an unknown glitch in the spell, it became a permanent fixture on Rainbow's body. The talismans were implanted inside the chest of the armor user, guaranteeing that they would never be damaged.
But all that was several years ago. Since then, this singular pony has walked the ruins of her former life, unable to die. Wherever she looks, she sees nothing but devastation and death. Skeletons litter the ground, buildings crumble, time begins to wear away at all the ponykind achieved. There is nothing left.
So along the pony walks. Her rainbow mane blows in the hot, dry wind. Perking up, she hears a noise in the distance. A shrill shriek, it warns of a coming dust storm. Alarmed, she runs to a nearby house, the most intact there is around. She hunkers down in the most sheltered area, under a bed. She may be immortal, but reforming after being flayed alive by a dust storm is still horrible. Realizing that this storm will last for a while, Rainbow gets as comfortable as she can, readying herself to ride out the storm. Laying her head on her front hooves, the mare tries to sleep. She doesn't actually need to sleep anymore, or eat and drink for that matter, but it's still comforting. Spreading the ragged blanket she keeps in her saddlebags out over herself, she falls into a deep, dreamless sleep.
When Rainbow awakens the next morning, she listens for the sound of the dust storm. Not hearing the scream, she crawls out from under the bed. Stretching her wings, she walks out of the house, and back into the Ponyville wastes. She picks a random direction and starts walking. For the past three years, that's all she's done. Walk, unable to die. After the first month, she'd tried to kill herself, but to no avail. The spells served their purpose well, going horribly right.
As Rainbow walks, she recalls the fond memories of her friends. She can still see them in her mind, still remember every adventure they ever had. When they defeated Discord, who, by the way, is said to have hopped to another dimension during the apocalypse. When they defeated Nightmare Moon, and saw Princess Luna return. Even more mundane things come to mind, like when her friend Applejack tried to buck the whole orchard herself, or when Twilight tried to teach Rainbow about the history of the Wonderbolts. Speaking of the Wonderbolts, Rainbow fondly remembered the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, when she had saved a pie from hitting the floor. When she got up with the pie, she found herself staring into Soarin's vibrant green eyes, unable to speak. Stumbling over her words, she had given the pie back, as he thanked her. That was the beginning of her love for Soarin, that goofy Wonderbolt. She'd been crushed when she found out he already had a marefriend, but elated when they broke up. She almost exploded when she found out that he was a trainer at Wonderbolt Academy. After getting to know each other better, they actually became great friends. Soarin asked her to the Starlight Dance just two weeks before the apocalypse. For once, she didn't mind looking at dresses until she found one she really liked. It was a beautiful dress, dark blue with emerald highlights.
She never got to wear it. The battle occurred and society crumbled three days before the dance was scheduled. Unable to die herself, Rainbow held Soarin in her arms as he coughed up blood, dying from a toxic gas.
Shaking her head, she dispelled the image forever burned into her memory of his eyes locked onto hers, full of fear as his body failed. Snapping out of the reverie, she looked up, finding that she was at her old friend Fluttershy's house. Walking in, Rainbow felt calmer. She always did when she found herself entering the cottage. A bit of Fluttershy's remnant spirit, she supposed. Looking around, Rainbow happened to notice an object sitting on the floor. Taking a closer look, she realized that it was the small bird call she'd traded her prized Daring Do book for at the Rainbow Falls Trading Post so long ago. Holding it in her hooves, she felt tears welling up in her eyes at the memory of her lost friend. Fluttershy had died when a fire tore through the hospital she was in, killing her and Angel. When her body was found, there was a smaller corpse right by it, bunny sized.
Rainbow started to cry as memories of her friends came rushing back. Of their smiling faces, their laughs, the times they'd shared together. Rainbow knew that she wouldn't be able to join them for a long time, the spell made sure of that. Packing the bird call into her bag, she dried her eyes, and walked out of the cottage. Her trotting broke into a canter, her canter into a gallop. She sprinted far and fast, straight on into eternity.
A little over 1600 years later the spells would finally fail, and Rainbow Dash, the last, best hope and final surviving member of ponykind would die, finally joining her friends. She was but a husk of her former self at that time, her sanity having left centuries earlier. When her tortured soul finally past into the great beyond, she found her friends waiting for her with open arms. And for the first time in over a millennium, she was happy.
~FIN~